I was reading about the aspartame not being the sugar free sweetener of choice.

But I am unclear on the reason.. Is it that it potentially triggers cravings that could sabatoge your diet?
What if you drink it and you do not get cravings? I'm amazed that just about everything sugar free is sweetened with aspartame!.. I LOVE my crystal light!

I suppose I could switch to diet right.

How about sweet n low in my coffee, I really don't like splenda in my coffee, is that a better choice than aspartame?

Look for things with Splenda.

Coke makes a dt.coke made with Splenda....

I don't worry about aspartame. Some people have specific reactions to it -- headaches in particular -- but most people don't.

The research telling us how bad aspartame is was largely funded by the sugar industry. The same industry that funded research showing that saccharine -- Sweet and Low -- causes cancer. The same industry that got cyclamates banned in the US (but not Canada) because it causes cancer. They are putting out all sorts of claims about Splenda/sucralose now.

I use whatever is available and tastes good.

Personally I don't really worry much about it. I don't drink enough diet soda to worry about the health hazards aspartame pose. I don't buy nitrate free bacon either. Call me a rebel.

I'm one of those that don't find that any of that stuff, (caffiene etc) trigger any sort of craving,...so if the aspartame issue is that it could trigger cravings, then I'm not going to concern myself. But if there is some other reason it could cause a stall..?

I have aspartame occasionally. I have to be careful with it because it gives me headaches - but I think for a lot of people, they have no reaction or issues at all. I have to be careful with sucralose (splenda) as well - so what I usually use if I need sweet stevia - I seem to have no reaction to that. But that's just me - I would say it is highly individual, pretty much like everyone else.

So, is it safe to assume that the issues with Aspartame are the potential side effects not related to weight loss, but how you feel... unless the adverse affect is cravings causing you to mess your diet up?

And if you do not experience feeling bad or trigger cravings then it is a non issue?.

Just trying to understand if it could affect weight loss, other than triggering cravings that could potentially cause you to eat what you shouldn't.

Little packets of Equal, like little packets of Splenda, could cause cravings because of the maltodextrin in the packets. Most of the bulk is maltodextrin, one of the worst sugars for triggering a glucose response in *some* people.

Sodas and other products are made with aspartame and sucralose without it first being mixed with maltodextrin. So even if putting a couple of packets of Equal in your coffee induces cravings that doesn't mean that Diet Coke will do the same thing.

People argue about whether artificial sweeteners trigger an insulin response. I don't think the research done on that topic is sufficient to indicate that it does. Others disagree. That is the only way AS could hinder weight loss on a LC diet that I can think of, beyond a specific effect on a person.

I am one who gets very ill when I use aspartame. For that reason, I avoid it. Not everyone has that problem, however. There are probably an equal number of people who have a bad reaction to Splenda, but Splenda doesn't bother me at all. And there are some who cannot even use Stevia, which is a natural herb. It's all a very individual thing.

The most common side effect of aspartame is anxiety - many more people suffer that, than realize it, so if you drink soda, and become in anyway anxious, the soda did it.

I don't know if this is true or not but it certainly made me think before consuming aspartame.

http://myaspartameexperiment.com/

all the hype about aspertame is hype, but that is something you should research for yourself and decide. there is also alot of hype about splenda now. i like the taste of aspertame much better than splenda and always choose the regular diet soda rather than the splenda version. i use equal when i am out, i've never had stalling, craving, or allergy type issues with it, so i choose to use it. never been a problem. it's just a matter of counting the packets so as not to overdo the carb count. the same goes for the little packets of splenda, count em as a carb. it's one of thos ymmv things, it may work for you, man not. works fine for me fortunately

For me aspartame was disastrous. I had most of the side-effects. Migranes, heart-irregularieties and anxiety. I never drank light drinks, it all came from the little pills I put in my coffee. I'd put 2 per big latte and I'd have 3-4 lattes per day.

At one point a friend of mine saw me put those in my coffee and said. "wait, aren't you having health issues?" so he explained all those things to me and I immediatly cut out that stuff. Since it leaves your system pretty fast in just a few days I felt so much better. I haven't had a single anxiety attack since I stopped using it. No migranes either and my heart's not been acting up.

Based on my own experience with it, I try to convince everyone I know to stop using it, but people here are right, it's a personal thing and not everyone has the some reactions to it.

Personally, I like to research where stuff comes from and aspartame was originally discovered by a chemist who was reasearching anti-ulcer drugs and accidentally licked his fingers and tasted how sweet it was. For me personally, I'd rather take stevia which is an hearb used for sweetening since mayan times.

But as I said, it's a personal thing and everyone is different/reacts different. :-)

I'm with you on the aspartane issue...it is toxic for me and I advise others not to use it... It get anxiety, headaches, nausea...cravings, etc... However, with most sugars I get cravings so I don't use them that much...or I use honey and drink the beverage with food...at which point I don't get the cravings.

TJ

I find that it triggers headaches and causes my fibromyalgia to flare up- so I avoid it like the plague. At home I use stevia if I need to sweeten something, when out I'll get something sweetened with either splenda or sweet n low. I very, very rarely drink sodas or iced teas, so I'm mostly looking for something to put in my coffee- packets of sweet n low are often available, but diet soda with sacharine no longer exists.

So, my first choice is stevia, 2nd choice sacharine, 3rd choice splenda- if none of those are available I'll do without.